Sharing a Secret and Waltzingmouse Stamps!

I have been keeping a secret for a while now and I'm so very excited that I can finally share it with you!

Claire Brennan of Waltzingmouse Stamps has chosen me to be on her brand new Design Team !!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE (did I say LOVE?!?) these wonderful stamps with Claire's special 'Irish' touch to the sentiments and images.

So today she is having the GRAND OPENING of her new Waltzingmouse Stamps Web Store and has asked all of her Design Team to create some cards/projects highlighting her stamps. We'll be posting things all week so be sure to keep checking back!

Today - I wanted to use her wonderful label stamp from the Vintage Christmas set. I think a special tag dresses up even the smallest of gifts and makes them really special don't you??!

First I made two traditional Christmas/Holiday labels.

On this one I stamped the holly on blue card stock to be a contrast on the green tag. I cut it out and popped it up on a foam dimensional. The berries are on the holly stamp but are also a separate stamp so it's easy to stamp them a different color and cut them out to layer them on.

And here's a second one.

Then I looked through Claire's other stamp sets to see what else I could use with this wonderful label stamp. I found lots of ideas in the Celtic Heritage Set.

First I made a tag for a wedding gift - My niece just got married this past May and her colors were raspberry and avocado so that was the inspiration for my tag. I just love the claddaugh symbol of two hands sharing one heart.

Then I stamped up this cute little swaddled baby image for a new baby girl tag. Obviously this would be great for a new baby boy using blues - or in green, yellow or purple when you don't know what sex the baby is when you give the gift!

I have loved thistle ever since I visited Scotland several years ago where I saw so much of it on our travels through that beautiful country! I don't know what I would use this tag for !?!? but I love how it looks! - maybe a bookmark or a tag for a gift of shortbread cookies? First I stamped the thistle in avocado, then stamped it again in plum pudding, cut out the flower and layered it over the avocado stamping.

And finally I made a tag for a new neighbor gift using this pretty Irish scroll pattern stamp that fit perfectly inside the label oval! So - just because this label stamp is in a Christmas set - you can see how versatile it is for many other occasions!

Now I bet you want to see who else is on the Waltzingmouse Design Team???

I am just so thrilled and honored to be working with these talented ladies and with Claire's wonderful stamps!!

Laurie Schmidlin

Bonnie Sharp

Anya Schrier

Belinda Chang Langner

Be sure to check out their blogs to see what fun things they have to offer this week as well as checking out Claire's new Waltzingmouse Web Store!!

And check out Claire's blog to see her wonderful creations using 6 sets just released today!

Thank you SO MUCH for stopping by today and sharing my exciting news! If you have a few minutes - you can see all the projects I've ever made using Waltzingmouse stamps here.

Stamps: Waltzingmouse: Very Vintage Christmas, Celtic Heritage

Paper: Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, Enchanted Evening, white, Vintage Cream: PTI

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Plum Pudding, Ripe Avocado, Berry Sorget, Enchanted Evening, Raspberry Fizz: PTI

Accessories: Large Eyelets: SU, Satin Ribbons - Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado, Berry Sorbet, Raspberry Fizz: PTI, Crop a dile, foam dimensionals

Inspired Housewarming and Brewin a Birthday

First! a reminder to check out my blog candy here: you have until Friday 12/12 to comment for a chance to win!

Stef's inspiration for us over at Split Coast this week was an Etsy site of beautiful necklaces 'Images Under Glass'. There were several that inspired me but I finally chose this one to make a card of for the challenge.I've been making so many Christmas holiday cards lately I felt like doing something different today. I used stamps from the Peaceful Decor set by H&M Stamps.


I paper pieced my vase with Roundup Designer Paper from Stampin Up and punched the flowers. I made the centers of the flowers with my 1/4" hole punch. The background paper is Cosmo Cricket Halfway Cafe. The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch.

I cut the framing for my sentiment with one of the Spellbinders Tag Trio dies. It is up on foam dimensionals

Stamps: Peaceful Decor: H&M Stamps
Paper: white:PTI, sage shadow, really rust, so saffron, Roundup DP: SU, Cosmo Cricket Halfway Cafe DP
Ink: onyx black versafine, terra cotta Adirondack, so saffron: SU
Accessories: corner rounder punch, butterfly punch: Martha Stewart, small flower punch, 1/4 inch hole punch, sponge, spell binders tag trio, nestability rectangle


My second card today was made for the Featured Stamper Challenge on Split Coast. What a wonderful gallery of cards 'Annascreations' has! I finally decided on this fun card to CASE. I love the Basic Grey Archaic designer paper and the colors of it go so well with coffee related images. I used the same colors and sketch as Anna's card - but changed the stamps used and the placement of the sentiment.
I also added a layer to the designer paper panel. My stamps are from a set called Coffee's Brewin by H&M Stamps. This set is full of fun coffee related images. You can check it out here.

We're having our first snow fall here today in Massachusetts so I keep bursting out singing Christmas Carols. DH and I are off now to visit dear MIL to help her address and send out her Christmas cards. Hope you have a great rest of the weekend!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Stamps: Coffee's Brewin: H&M Stamps
Paper: really rust, naturals ivory, choc chip: SU, DP: Basic Grey Archaic
Ink: Dark Chocolate: PTI, Creamy caramel: SU
Accessories: foam dimensionals, copics, brass brads, hole punch, Keytag punch: SU, sponge

The World is Brighter with a Home of Your Own

I made my first card for Heather's H&M Saturday Sketch/Color challenge seen here.

And this is the card I made using the sketch.

And you are invited to come and play along!

I used this fun Joy Ride Percy Stamp from H&M stamps as well as a sentiment from the set "A Lot Of Thanks'. The designer papers I used here are travel themed papers and have map images on them - don't know if you can see that too well on the picture. I think this makes a great masculine card that could be used for a guys birthday with the proper sentiment stamped inside!

Stamps: Joy Ride Percy, A Lot of Thanks: H&M Stamps
Paper: vintage cream: PTI, Cool caribbean, marigold morning, choc chip: SU, DP - Autumn Leaves Stack
Ink: onyx black versafine
Accessories: word window punch: SU, oval nestabilities, Prismacolor markers, foam dimensionals, flower punch: Martha Stewart

I made my second card for the limited supplies challenge on Split Coast: to use a rectangle, a circle and only ribbon for embellishment. It's also using Beate's weekend sketch.I used this pretty cottage stamp from H&M stamps as well as this lovely designer paper that I just got at Eclectic Paperie . It's by My Mind's Eye and it's sparkly and embossed a bit. I colored the cottage with my Prismacolor markers. I cut the circle with my coluzzle, punched the small circle and used my rectangle nestability for the cottage. I tucked a small piece of two sided ribbon under the sentiment. I did use a little iced coffee stickles on the windows without even thinking that it's an embellishment so I think I cheated a little on the Limited Supplies challenge (oops!)

Hope you have a super weekend! I'm running a card workshop at my church and going to my God-Daughter's 3rd birthday party both on Sunday as well as going to a play with DH on Saturday - so it will be a busy one for me!

Here is Eden - almost 3!

Stamps: Old English: H&M Stamps
Paper: vintage cream: PTI, DP: Pink and Gold Dots: The Paper Company, Floral: My Minds Eye - Laundry Line
Ink: Onyx Black Versafine
Accessories: Prismacolor markers, circle punch, rectangle nestability, round coluzzle, ribbon, foam dimensionals, Coffee Ice stickles

A Tree of Hope and a House Too Small

This is my card from yesterdays Sketch Challenge at SCS. I finished it too late to load it - I had to get to bed! But here it is today - and I really love how it came out!

I used Michelle Zindorf's Northern Lights tutorial here as inspiration. Michelle is such a terrific artist and she makes a tutorial every day on her blog - you really have to check her out!

This is the sketch we were given.

I had to make panels 3 and 4 the same size because of the size of my tree stamp and I turned it on it's side. I sponged the River Rock panel with certainly celery and Blue Bayou leaving a clear space in the middle - and then stamped my tree from the Natural Heritage set by Artful Inkables with black ink. I love this tree and sentiment don't you? I used the Distressed stripes cuttlebug folder on the black panel and I attached little blue square brads to the corners of the blue bayou panel.

Stamps: Natural Heritage- Artful Inkables
Paper: River Rock, Basic Black, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky: SU
Ink: Onyx Black Versafine, Certainly Celery & Blue Bayou: SU
Accessories: hole punch, blue square brads, petite rectangle nestabilities, glue dots, cuttlebug, Distressed Stripes folder, foam dimensionals

Next up is my card for Amy Rysavy's A-Muse-a-Palooza Ambassador Challenge - we had to use the layout of 4 punched circles on a square. My card is 4 1/4 x 4 1/4.

I first traced circles on a piece of Very Vanilla CS and then stamped my images within the circles the way I wanted them placed. Then I colored the images and paperpieced the pillows, lampshade and girls dress. All the images are Amuse. I had this circles chipboard piece (forever!) from a Stampin Up On Board Accents set so I was happy to finally use it! I covered it with this pretty DP from 7 Gypsies (after I punched the holes out of it!). I attached it to the vanilla stamped piece with foam dimensionals. I cuttlebugged the card using the Floral Fantasy folder then attached the chipboard over it.

You can see the detail of the paper piecing better in this close up.

I stamped the Irish Proverb (from Amuse) onto a piece of Very Vanilla and used my Labels Trio Spellbinder die to cut and dry embosss it. I attached that onto the chipboard piece with foam dimensionals. I stamped New Home (which is a piece of a Michaels $1 stamp that has a house above it) onto a piece of Very Vanilla and punched it with the tab punch. I did a little paper piercing on it, sponged it and attached it to the side. The foam flower has a little bit of stickles on the center for a little sparkle. I'm really happy with how this came out!

Thanks so much for stopping by today - now I'm off to do today's Ways to Use It Challenge - to use a photo on your card - I'll be putting that up tomorrow - have a great night!

Stamps: Irish Proverb, Couch, Kissing Couple, Lame: Amuse, New Home: Mike's $1
Paper: Bordering Blue, Very Vanilla: SU, DP- 7 gypsies Olana
Ink: Bordering Blue SU, Onyx Black Versafine
Accessories: tab punch, arctic ice stickles, Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive, spellbinders Label Trios, cuttlebug, Floral Fantasy folder, sponge, foam flower: Petaloo, SU on Board Accents, SU marker: Not Quite Navy, Prismacolor markers, Sky blue light, light cerulean blue, cool gray.